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Professional Coin Grading Service -
PCGS certifies coins as genuine and determines their grades
according to a popular coin hobby grading scale (of 1 to 70). They
charge a fee for their services and encapsulate the coin in a tamper
resistant protective holder. Some PCGS graded coins sell for a
premium over the ungraded versions of the same coins, because collectors
are willing to pay a premium price for the assurances that a third-party
grading service can provide. PCGS is one of the top three
independent grading services today. Also see ANACS and NGC.

- Proof - a coin produced from
specially treated and polished
dies and/or planchets.
A proof coin is usually
struck two or more times. This give the resulting coin a very great degree of detail and
the surface becomes mirror-like. Proofs are not made to circulated
in commerce, rather they are minted for numismatic purposes, presentations in
sets, or sold as collectibles. Because of the fine surface detail on
proof coins, any small scratch or mark caused by mishandling can hurt the value and grade of a proof coin. Proofs are sold by the
US mint
in the year they are issued. Normally their cost is high enough to
cover their special manufacturing costs.

Sometimes the initials PR or PF are used with a number to indicate
the "grade" or degree of excellence of the proof coin. For
example, with many coin grading services a PR69 would be one of the
highest grades possible for a proof coin (with PR70 being perfect). A
grade of PR60 would indicate a proof coin that was still in mint
condition, however displayed some less than perfect features.
For more about proofs please read

"PR" or "PF" is an abbreviation for "proof". 69
indicates the quality of the coin using the numeric coin grading scale that is
the most popular quality grading scale in use today. Coin grades run from 1 to 70.
A grade of PR70 or PF-70 is considered the best grade that is possible, with a 70 being an absolutely perfect coin.
Also see topic- "MS69".

More info about the US Presidential
Dollar Coins:

-
Poly
Vinyl Chloride (or PolyVinyl-Chorine). PVC is sometimes used in the
manufacturing of plastic to add a flexibility or softness to it. Warning: Do
NOT Use Coin holders containing PVC. Polyvinyl Chlorine has been found to be
an unstable material, that over time can come out of the plastic as it ages and
damage coins or other items that are stored in it. As the chemical breaks
down it can often leave a slimy film on a coin or stain on paper money (baseball
cards, etc.) PVC is found in some older holders made to hold coins, 2x2
coin holders, coin flips, currency holders and pages, and album pages (for
baseball cards, photographs, and coin sets). In the mid-1980's the coin
hobby became acutely aware of the danger of PVC as many holders made in the
decade prior to that began to deteriorate and damage the coins they contained.
Today, many coin collecting supply manufactures avoid the PVC softening agents
and will often mention on their holders that they are "free of PVC".
Recommendation: Avoid any type of plastic holder that contains PVC.
Inquire of the seller if you are not sure whether a holder contains PVC.

Nickname for a Silver Dollar variety.
Comes from a famous coin book Morgan and Peace Dollars varieties.
Written by Van Allen and Mallous (hence the abbreviation VAM). The
the book the authors identified numerous US silver dollars and labeled
many varieties with a scale designating their opinion of scarcity.
An number of grading services are now adding the VAM number to silver
dollars when they grade them. A number of collectors and dealers
are now trading in these dollar varieties.